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Woke up for the last time on trail a little before 5:30 and started packing up my stuff for the final time. Took my final trail shit and started moving at 6:03.
Had a small uphill climb but after that it was all downhill. Had a few blowdowns to hop over but I didn’t care, I was almost done. At 9:35 I reached the northern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail. My hike was finally over.
Sonic got there before me and there were a couple other non thru hikers there. I had seen so many pictures and videos of the end so it was weird to be there in person. It didn’t even feel like the finish. It was much more anti climatic than the Appalachian Trail. I signed the trail register and chilled out there for a bit. A helicopter swooped over us. Thought it was border patrol but it was actually surveyors.
We had about eight more miles to hike in order to get picked up by Sonics parents so we started moving into Canada at 10:30. Ran into Sonics parents a few miles before the road. Turns out they decided to hike up the trail. We walked back to the car and drove to the resort where we showered and got lunch before driving back to Sonics house which was around five hours away. Her family has really hooked me up on this trip. Now they’re letting me stay at their house and will drive me to the airport when I leave. Not only did they spend a lot of money on me, they also saved me a lot of money as well.
Speaking of the airport. It was gonna cost me $500+ to fly home to Maine so I ended up buying a ticket to Boston which was half the price.
We made it back to their house around 9PM. Time flies by when you’re not hiking. I got to take a real shower with real soap and shampoo which was amazing. Also slept on a nice comfy bed which was a nice change up from a 3/4 inch pad.
This will probably be my final post for a little bit. I’m going to do an update on gear and maybe another post about the next couple days before I head home.

Got moving by six for the first time in a few days. Today was my final full day of hiking. Wanted to make tomorrow as easy as possible so I kept moving for most of the day. Had a few climbs to do but nothing major.

Ended the day at 8:15, so close to forty miles but whatever. It felt weird to set up camp and eat dinner for the final time. Can’t believe I’ll be done tomorrow. Only eleven miles to go.

Got in my tent at 9:30 but didn’t fall asleep until 3AM. Consumed too much sugar and caffeine, and my stomach wasn’t feeling too good either but it was all worth it. Got up at 6:30 and went down to the restaurant to get some breakfast. Hung around and somehow managed to update my blog with the slow wifi.

The shuttle left a 8:15 and I started hiking around 9:15. The first 25 miles was pretty much all uphill. Not steep but just uphill. Had some great views by the end of the day and I stopped hiking around 8:15 when I got to the top of a pass. Sonic was there and so was a guy named Attrition. He had heard of me on the AT, he was behind me the whole way to Katahdin. The crazy thing is that he hiked from the end of the AT all the way to the PCT and he’s now doing it SOBO and then hiking over to the CDT and doing that NOBO. Yes, you read that right. That’s just insane, I thought doing just one long trail was enough.
Anyways, it was nice to end the day early. I actually got in my tent with daylight to spare. Tomorrow will be my final full day on the PCT

Got moving by 6:15 and it was mostly all downhill. Had a few climbs that caught me off guard. I met two women who are attempting to break the unsupported record for a they hike of the PCT. I believe the current record is around 59 days so they have their work cut out for them.

At around 10AM I got so hungry I ate five of my snacks which (in the past) would last me almost the entire day. I was too hungry. Time was also dragging on so I decided to pop in my headphones and listen to music while I hike for the first time ever. I have to admit, that made a huge difference the rest of the day. And to top it off I didn’t even lose 1% of battery life.
I end up making good time to High Bridge by 1:10PM. Kinda sucks because if I woke up a little earlier I could have made the 12:30 shuttle into town. Instead I had to wait until 3PM. Can’t be too mad since my original plan was to take the 6:15PM shuttle so I’m still ahead of schedule. Took the extra time to get a good stretch in since I haven’t been doing that as much lately. Also tried patching up the holes in my shoes with Cuban fiber tape. Probably won’t work but whatever.
The shuttle came at 3 and stopped at the bakery on the way into town. I bought their humongous cinnamon roll, chocolate milk, a cookie and some other pastry. It all tasted amazing. Got to “town” and Sonic was there. She took the 12:30 shuttle. I lucked out and made it five minutes before the PO closed to pick up my box. The Guthook app said 4:30 but they actually closed at 4. Went to the general store and reorganized my food bag. I’m bringing a ton of food for these final days. I also bought a Monster energy drink. Between that and the bakery I was probably already over 300g of sugar.
Relaxed on the porch for a little while before going to shower/laundry. The shower was $1 for five minutes. The first two minutes were hot and the rest was ice cold. Reminded me of Sierra City. Got some dinner at the restaurant after, had some pasta. The wifi was off for some reason so that sucked. I was really hoping to be able to use the internet because there’s no cell service in Stehekin. Went up to the campground which was pretty far and all uphill. Pigged out on a big bag of chips then hopped in my tent.

Ended up sleeping in again until six. The first half of the day was crappy. Just didn’t feel like hiking, took a lot of mini breaks. Not to mention some climbs to start off with including one that was almost like bush wacking so I got soaked
The positive is that I finally saw the sun and the blue sky again. I almost forgot what it was like. With that came the amazing views Washington had to offer. I took tons of pictures and videos. It really sucks that I missed out on over 100 miles worth of views because of weather
At 2PM I checked my mileage and was shocked that I only had 17.1 done. I usually have at least 20 by 2. I guess the late start along with feeling sluggish really slowed me down. I was lucky though, I had around a 13.5 mile section that was all downhill and then flat. I took advantage of it and speed walked and even jogged some. This led to be getting almost knocked unconscious by a tree that had fallen over onto the trail that was right at head height. I always tend to look at the ground so I ran head first into it. The next thing I know I’m on my back. Sat there for a few minutes, took some ibuprofen and kept going.
The end of the day had me doing an 8 mile climb. I was really dreading it but it ended up being very well graded and very smooth. I kept a pretty good pace going up and ended the day exactly where I wanted to by 8:50. Ended up making great time. At mid day it was looking like I was going to have to hike until 10PM so I’m glad that didn’t happen
Only 20.1 miles to Stehekin tomorrow. It will be my final town stop so I’m definitely going to gorge on some food. I might end up staying the night there since I hear there’s a campground. We’ll see.

Planned on getting up at 5 but it was raining so I got up at 6. The first four hours or so sucked. I was soaking wet from all the wet brush and it was still drizzling. The weather was suppose to clear up and it did around 11 but the clouds and fog remained. For a bit I actually saw some mountains and it looked amazing. Northern Washington is suppose to be one of the most beautiful sections of the PCT and I’m missing it because of the weather.

I’m getting a decent sized hole in my left shoe. I wanted to stitch it up but haven’t seen any sewing kits in any stores. Hopefully I can find one in Stehekin. I want these shoes to last me all the way home.
The last ninety minutes or so sucked. I got onto the wrong trail because that’s where markers told me to go. Lost about 10-15 minutes to that. Then the steep climb up to a camp site that was taken. It was 9PM by then so now I had to night hike. Thankfully, I found an alright flat spot next to a stream by 9:30 and stopped there. My tent is still soaked from the past couple nights so that sucks. It’s kinda misty out so it’ll probably be drenched again in the morning.

Woke up at the usual 5:30 and said “fuck that” and went back to sleep. Woke up a 7:30 and got moving at 8. Sleeping in felt good. Did 13.5 miles to Stevens Pass and got there a little before 1PM. Picked up my box at the ski lodge that Sonics mom sent for me. Saved me a long hitch into Skykomish.

The lodge was nice so I chilled out there for a while. They had some food there but it was pretty expensive, still pigged out though, I can’t help it. Had a panini sandwich, a burrito, coke, coffee and two small bags of Doritos. They also had very clean bathrooms so you know I took care of some business in there. Also took the time to air out my tent, shoes and socks. I left around 4 but not before grabbing some ice cream and using the bathroom again
Did about 13 more miles before I ended the day around 8:45. Of course it starts to rain when I set up my tent. It was just a heavy drizzle but any water from the sky is rain to me. I checked the forecast before leaving the pass and it said no rain, that’s just my luck. I even did what I never do, and that’s eat in my tent. I hope the animals don’t bother me because of it.
I’m camping in a pretty open area so I hope the wind and rain don’t pick up. The weather report said its suppose to clear up starting tomorrow so I’m praying it’s right. I’m starting to forget what it’s like to hike in the sun.

Long day today. Got moving by six and within five minutes my entire lower body was soaking wet from rubbing up against wet ferns. The entire day was cloudy and foggy. It was either misting or raining the whole day. Rain really sucks, I can’t stand it. At least it wasn’t heavy rain.

Had a few long climbs today which slowed me down. I finally got to use my rain kilt which worked much better than expected. Ended the day around 8:45. Everything in my tent is wet which sucks. I can feel water seeping through my sleeping bag as I type this. I really hope the weather gets better tomorrow.

Slept great last night. I really can’t wait until I can do that every night and get some real rest. I got up around 8:15 and got breakfast with Sonic and her mom. My feet felt much better, I could actually put my heels on the ground. I feel like this is the perfect opportunity to zero but I’m so close to the end I’m just gonna go.

Check out was at 11 so I took another shower, packed up my stuff and watched some Olympic volleyball on TV until I had to leave. I always thought check out should be a full 24 hours after your check in. Got in kind of late last night so it kind of sucks to pay full price and have to leave so soon.
I resupplied after my check out and got some food from a food truck that everyone recommended to me yesterday. Sonic and I got back to the trail around noon, this was much sooner than I planned but whatever. We had a long climb to start and of course it started to rain. The forecast for the next few days looks wet. There are few things I hate more than rain.
I missed out on a lot of good views because of fog, bummer. But I’m glad I had the Goat Rocks and Knifes Edge on a clear day. I got a little lost towards the end of the day when I hopped on the wrong trail. Lost about 15 minutes. I ended the day early at around 8:15. The sky looked like it wanted to pour and the next camp spot was 5.2 miles straight up. I willing to bet that’s where Sonic went. My foot was also starting to act up and I had left town earlier than expected so I don’t feel bad about calling it an early day
It was nice to end the day with daylight left. I didn’t feel rushed like I normally do when I stop at 9PM or later. I remember when I considered 8PM late back in California. I even washed my socks since there was a stream right next to me. Now that’s one less thing I have to do tomorrow.
I’m really hoping it doesn’t rain. Or at least not in the morning when I wake up. Packing up your stuff in the rain really sucks. I’ll wake up at 5:30 like I usually do and if I hear rain I’ll wait another 30 minutes and hope that it’ll stop.
Only 50 miles to Stevens Pass

Woke up a little earlier at 5:15. It was kind of cold out do I stepped off in my rain coat and gloves. I hate doing 20+ miles into town because all I’m thinking about is what I’m going to do there and time moves so much slower.

At nine I ran into an aid station at a road crossing. Apparently, there was a thirty mile training run that was happening on the PCT. The aid station ended up being my first trail magic of Washington. The people gave me a Pepsi, chips, candy, a banana and cookies. It was amazing and I was actually full. They told me they would be heading north on the trail so I would see them again.
About an hour later the first runner passed me. This dude was hauling ass. He was probably running around a six minute mile, keep in mind this is on a trail with ups and downs. I found out later that this guy usually does 100 mile races in about 16-18 hours, that’s nuts.
At 2:45 I ran into the same aid station again. This was the last stop for the runners so I could have all the leftovers, and there was a lot. I stayed there pigging out until 3:30. Made it to Snoqualmie Pass by 5:30. Got a room at the Summit Inn for around $90, they gave me two beds which was nice. It kind of sucks getting in late but whatever.
Sonic was already at the hotel with her mom. She actually brought me loaner clothes which was awesome. I also got to use their soap and shampoo so that saved me some cash. I went over to the mini mart which was located right next to the hotel. They had everything a hiker could want. I bought a Monster energy drink, a pint of B&J ice cream, chocolate milk and some tortilla chips and cheese dip.
Went to dinner with Sonic and her mom. Had a burger and potato wedges. Back in the room I dug into the chip and dip which I kind of regret buying because I was full. Spent the rest of the night watching tv and using wifi. I’m really hoping my feet heal up and hold up for the rest of the trail.